amongst us little or no zeal for reformation of what is indeed amiss, little or no care to remove the cause of God's anger towards us, by just, lawful, and Christian means; I profess plainly, I cannot without trembling consider, what is likely to be the event of these distractions; I cannot but fear, that the goodness of our cause may sink under the burden of our sins; and that God in his justice, because he will not suffer his judgments to achieve their prime scope and intention, which is our amendment and reformation, may either deliver us up to the blind zeal and fury of our enemies; or else, which I rather fear, make us instruments of his justice each against other, and of our own just and deserved confusion. This, I profess plainly, is my fear, and I would to God it were the fear of every soldier in his Majesty's army: but, that which increaseth my fear is, that I see very many of them have very little or none at all; I mean not, that they are fearless towards their enemies, (that's our joy and triumph) but that they shew their courage even against God, and fear not him, whom it is madness not to fear. Now from whence can their not fearing him proceed, but from their not knowing him, their not knowing his will, and their own duty? Not knowing how highly it concerns soldiers, above other professions, to be religious? And then, if ever, when they are engaged in dangerous adventures, and every moment have their lives in their hands, when they go to war with their enemies, then to take heed there be no wicked thing in them,

You see, beloved, how many instances and examples I have given you of our gross ignorance of what is necessary and easy for us to know; and

to these it were no difficult matter to add more: now from whence can this ignorance proceed, but from supine negligence? And from whence this negligence, but from our not believing what we pretend to believe? For, did we believe firmly and heartily, that this book were given us by God for the rule of our actions, and that obedience to it were the certain and only way to eternal happiness, it were impossible we should be such enemies to ourselves, such traitors to our own souls, as not to search it, at least with so much diligence, that no necessary point of our duty plainly taught in it, could possibly escape us. But it is certain and apparent to all the world, that the greatest part. of Christians, through gross and wilful negligence, remain utterly ignorant of many necessary points of their duty to God and man; and therefore it is much to be feared, that this book, and the religion of Christ contained in it, among an infinity of professors, labours with great penury of true believers.

It were an easy matter (if the time would permit) to present unto you many other demonstrations of the same conclusion; but to this, drawn from our willing ignorance of that which is easy. and necessary for us to know, I will content myself to add only one more, taken from our voluntary and presumptuous neglect to do those things. which we know and acknowledge to be necessary.

If a man should say unto me, that it concerns. him as much as his life is worth, to go presently to such a place, and that he knows but one way to it, and I should see him stand still, or go some other way, had I any reason to believe, that this man believes himself? Quid verba audiam, cum

facta videam? saith he in the comedy: Protestatio contra factum non valet, saith the law; and why should I believe, that that man believes obedience to Christ the only way to present and eternal happiness, whom I see, wittingly, and willingly, and constantly, and customarily, to disobey him? The time was, that we all knew, that the king could reward those that did him service, and punish those that did him disservice, and then all men were ready to obey his command, and he was a rare man that durst do any thing to his face that offended him. Beloved, if we did but believe in God, so much as most subjects do in their king; did we as we verily believe, that God could and would make us perfectly happy, if we serve him, though all the world conspire to make us miserable; and that he could and would make us miserable, if we serve him not, though all the world should conspire to make us happy; how were it possible, that to such a faith our lives should not be conformable? Who was there ever so madly in love with a present penny, as to run the least hazard of the loss of 10,000l. a year to gain it, or not readily to part with it upon any probable hope, or light persuasion, much more a firm belief, that by doing so he should gain 100,000l. Now, beloved, the happiness which the servants of Christ are promised in the Scripture, we all pretend to believe, that it exceeds the conjunction of all the good things of the world, and much more such a proportion as we may possibly enjoy, infinitely more than 10,000l. a year, or 100,000l. dóth a penny; for 100,000l. is but a penny so many times over, and 10,000l. a year is worth but a certain number of pence; but between heaven

and earth, between finite and infinite, between eternity and a moment, there is utterly no proportion; and therefore, seeing we are so apt, upon trifling occasions, to hazard this heaven for this earth, this infinite for this finite, this all for this nothing; is it not much to be feared, that though many of us pretend to much faith, we have indeed but very little or none at all? The sum of all, which hath been spoken concerning this point, is this-Were we firmly persuaded, that obedience to the gospel of Christ is the true and only way to present and eternal happiness (without which faith no man living can be justified), then the innate desire of our own happiness could not but make us studious inquirers of the will of Christ, and conscionable performers of it: but there are (as experience shews) very few, who make it their care and business to know the will of Christ; and of those few again, very many, who make no conscience at all of doing what they know; therefore, though they profess and protest they have faith, yet their protestations are not to be regarded against their actions; but we may safely and reasonably conclude what was to be concluded, that the doctrine of Christ, amongst an infinity of professors, labours with great scarcity of true, serious, and hearty believers; and that herein also we accomplish St. Paul's prediction, "Having a form of godliness, but denying," &c.

But perhaps the truth and reality of our repentance may make some kind of satisfaction to God Almighty for our hypocritical dallying with him in all the rest. Truly, I would be heartily glad it were so; but I am so far from being of this faith, that herein I fear we are most of all hypocritical,

and that the generality of professors is so far from a real practice of true repentance, that scarce one in a hundred understands truly what it is.

Some satisfy themselves with a bare confession and acknowledgment, either that they are sinners in general, or that they have committed such and such sins in particular; which acknowledgment comes not yet from the heart of a great many, but only from their lips and tongues: for how many are they, that do rather complain and murmur, that they are sinners, than acknowledge and confess it; and make it, upon the matter, rather their unhappiness and misfortune, than their true fault, that they are so? Such are all they who impute all their commissions of evil to the unavoidable want of restraining grace, and all their omission of good to the like want of effectual exciting grace: all such as pretend, that the commandments of God are impossible to be kept any better than they are kept; and that the world, the flesh, and the devil, are even omnipotent enemies; and that God neither doth, nor will, give suffieient strength to resist and overcome them; all such as lay all their faults upon Adam, and say, with those rebellious Israelites (whom God assures, that they neither had nor should have just reason to say so), that their fathers had eaten sour grapes, and their teeth were set on edge : lastly, all such as lay their sins upon Divine prescience, and predestination, saying with their tongues, O what wretched sinners have we been! but in their hearts, How could we help it! We are predestinate to it, we could not do otherwise.

All such as seriously persuade themselves, and think to hide their nakedness with such fig-leaves